Who built the first double-cab pickup? It’s debatable, since undoubtedly there were custom and coach-built ones going back quite far. But VW’s “double cabin” pickup is one of the true pioneers of the segment, and a rather iconic one at that. Of the three body styles that the VW Transporter family offered, this one splits it pretty much down the middle, since it’s really half-bus and half pickup. But that precisely is the charm of these, as well as all double-cab pickups. If you can’t decide between a van and a truck, it’s possible to get the best of both, and in one very compact package, in the case of the VW.

VW started building single cab pickups in 1952. As the story has been told, a florist went to the German coach-building firm Binz, and requested a pickup body that had both open and enclosed areas, and the VW double cab pickup was the result. VW liked what it saw, and requested more from Binz. Now the florist part is not verifiable, but the fact that Binz started building them for VW in 1953 is documented. And as can be seen here, the Binz used a wider rear door than the subsequent factory-built version.

In October of 1958, VW decided that the market for their pickup “with double cabin” was big enough to warrant building it themselves. And it obviously was cheaper to just use one of the Transporter’s double side doors than a new wider one.

This brochure is for the 1959 version, and targeted to the US market. VW Transporters and pickups sold very well during the late 50s, enough so that the infamous “Chicken tax” was the result. It was a 25% import duty on all “light trucks” in retaliation for a European tax on American chicken exports. The only “light truck” that was then being imported in any meaningful numbers was the VW, and it had caught Detroit’s attention. Sales quickly tanked. And GM and Ford brought out their own compact trucks in 1960. The Japanese eventually got around the tax by importing their pickups without a bed, and adding a US built bed. But the VW’s integrated body and bed made that essentially impossible. After 1963, the primary market for VW pickups was VW’s own dealers, who used them for parts trucks.

Not surprisingly, this double cab pickup appears to be a 1962, from the pre-chicken tax era. What suggests it’s a ’62 are the engine vents that flare out (instead of in), and the pull-type door handles, both of which were changed during the 1963 model year. I shot it a couple of years ago, at our popular Farmer’s Market, on the side where the vendors unload their trucks. The original engine would have been the 1200cc, with 40 gross, 34 net hp. Most likely, it’s long been swapped out for something bigger; typically a 1600cc from a later bus or Beetle.

The double cab’s rear door was a single one, on the curbside, naturally. Assuming you’re not parked on the left side of a closed street, that is. I assume that was reversed in RHD countries.

Of course, old VW buses were the cool vehicle to have in the late 60s and early 70s. But these double cab trucks were doubly cool, as they were always rather rare, and just so…cool. It was half bus, and half truck. What a brilliant idea? Why didn’t anyone else think of this? Of course you couldn’t put a big mattress in the back, but who cared? Some young seekers didn’t really want to have half a dozen freeloaders in the back.

Maybe just one. I was picked up hitchhiking by a guy driving one like this, and it was a good long ride; from West Branch, Iowa all the way into Western Indiana. And it was a memorable ride, because his truck ran really well, something that was not a given in those days when most young long-haired owners had been rebuilding their engines on the kitchen table, following John Muir’s directions in his bible on the subject. The results were not consistent.

This double cab scooted along at exactly 65 mph wide open, on the endless flats of Illinois. That was good, for the stock 1500cc engine he had in it. But what was really surprising to me, given how much time I had spent in VW buses, was how quiet it was.

There was a reason for that: the engine was back under the bed, and its busy little howl was not transmitted directly into the big box of a body. It was a bit of a revelation, actually. Is this why folks were so hot on these? And the rear compartment was quite roomy, with a big, tall bench seat and plenty of room to toss my backpack there along with the owner’s gear. The whole idea of a double cab pickup suddenly made gobs of sense. Why weren’t these more popular? At the time, in 1972 or so, double cab American pickups were still very rare, since only Dodge and International had been building factory-assembled versions for some years, and Ford was new to the game.

Of course, the American double cab trucks were very long, and folks just hadn’t cottoned to the idea of using them as the family hauler. The VW: 168.5 inches long. That’s all of 8″ longer than the original VW Beetle. But there’s lots of upright seating room for five adults, and a cargo bed in the back. Now that’s space efficiency we can only dream about nowadays. No wonder it’s such a cult classic. And this one has probably been restored and sold for something well over $50k by now. There’s more money on old VW trucks than there is in organic vegetables.

Jason, I didn’t read your article until quite late last night; too late to make major changes. So I just banged this one out real quickly. I wasn’t trying to rain on your parade. I’ve been sitting on this one for several years, and it just really wanted to join the party. 🙂

The prices on vintage VW’s are at absurd levels…. Unjustifiable in light of their many weaknesses. I really like them but I don’t feel that any VW should be worth 5 figures unless it’s a real rarity like a Hebmuller.

American adults? Are americans particularely larger or smaller than other people? Or is it the same people? There are about fifty million people in America with German ancestry, they are the largest ethnic group second only to hispanics.

Yes. The interior dimensions are quite decent, thanks to the very boxy and tall body. It’s always been much more comfortable to seat three across in the back of a VW bus than any minivan; it’s almost comparable to a full size van.

Admittedly, Americans are spoiled now (and bigger), but the accommodations in VW buses, on their back seats, was always quite good. They were designed to be able to seat three across.

I only asked because the size of that 3rd door makes it look like that area behind the driver’s seat would be small. It also made me wonder if VW had used a “trick” many car companies used to use when they wanted the rear compartment of a sedan to look more spacious: they would shorten the rear seats cushion. But those measurements….who would have guessed?

German’s are not exactly small – they tend to be taller than many others and dare I say a bit trimmer!? No doubt VW products were designed around the dimensions of typical Germans.

I just came back from a month in Brazil and saw some of these – and even more Combi van and 2 door ute variants – all over the place. They only stopped making the Combi in Brazil very recently, as a result of the new requirements for all new cars sold in Brazil to have front airbags. The sheer number of Combi’s still in active service in Brazil is remarkable. Many are the more recent water cooled engine variety, but there are still many air cooled and split window versions working hard every day. Most of the famed Combi buses though have been replaced by Mercedes vans…..with air conditioning! Some luxury at last for the commuters – they still call them Combi buses though and indeed the term Combi seems to be the generic term in Brazil for any form of van.

Then there are the Beetles…..most Beetles (known and badged as Fuscas in Brazil) have been retired from active service in Brazil and many nicely restored examples are to be seen. Every now and then one still sees an original condition Beetle soldiering on as it has done for decades.

It would be fun to see an updated version of this. It appears to be quite roomy and the bed measures slightly larger, at least in length and width, than my F-150 crew.

Today’s small trucks are just too small inside IMO and aren’t that much more efficient or cheaper than a full size. I wonder if this could still be built while meeting safety standards. I know they still make trucks somewhat similar but larger in Europe but don’t know much about them.

Interesting sales pitch, but it’s hard to imagine a serious business that could use it. The ‘canopy express’ probably comes closest. Keep your wares in the closed part, bring them out to sell. A serious work crew needs a bigger and deeper platform.

The box is longer and wider than today’s full size crew cabs. The box height is about 6″ shorter though, which could be an issue for some folks. Which is also my biggest disappointment with the new 2017 Honda Ridgeline.

The chicken tax was not instituted purely as a result of the popularity of the VW pickups. It not only affected trucks it was also imposed on Brandy, Dextrin, and Potato starch. Those products were chosen because the value of those products imported to the US prior to the tax was about equal to the value of chicken that had been sold in France and Germany prior to their implementation of a tariff.

It was supposed to be an eye for an eye, or dollar for dollar offset, and the VW pickup just got caught up in the mess because it was from Germany and the dollar value was similar. The chicken tax was intended as an eye for an eye or dollar for dollar retaliation. Of course its existence to this day is another story.

The T1 bus was sold in the UK in RHD version, with the side doors on the right side, but I’m not sure about how many pickups were. But some RHD versions of the double cab were sold, as this (customized) one from South Africa shows.

Since VW built their vans with optional doors on bit sides, and the doors were symmetrical, it was easy to offer side load doors on either or both sides.

The blue one isn’t a ’52 , and the article one isn’t a ’62 as ’62 was the last year of the bullet front turn signals .

I had two of the VW in house made ones with the ‘ suicide ‘ third door , they were nice , did a light refurbishing and re sold them for $2,500 each in the 1970’s before the kids drove up Vintage VW prices .

In the middle 1960’s we had a ’66 crewcab VW Typ II in New Hampshire ~ yes it easily carried three across the rear seat , sometimes more than five total passengers but no one liked the raised deck so it was mostly used as a people hauler and grocery getter .

The blue Binz pictured is a ’58. I know that truck and the previous owner in Florida.

The last year for the bullet turn signals was 1961 in the US spec, 1963 in Euro spec.

Oh and another thing, Paul, the pull out door handles actually lasted through early 1964, the vents didn’t go inward facing on trucks until 1966 (late 1963 on Buses) and the 40hp was offered during the first part of 1963 with the 1500 being optional but the take rate was low. By mid year the 1500 was included in US spec.

I loved reading that a florist ostensibly was the motivating force behind this. My grandparents used this vehicle for years while running their florist shop in South Philadelphia from the late 40s into the 70s. Don’t know the year, now wonder if it was a Binz. Never got to ride in it, although i have ridden in a number of vans of this generation.

The fold down sides were great for loading/unloading heavy items with a forklift and you could approach it from 3 sides.

Also the higher bed made loading from a warehouse that had high loading docks for 18 wheelers a lot easier than with a standard pickup.

The single cab versions had a good size under bed storage through a side door for smaller items, tools etc. which could be kept locked up, out of sight and protected from weather.

They had several utility advantages over conventional pickups in many trades. And better traction and good ground clearance for rough roads to boot. You could go through quite deep water without flooding the rear mounted engine with the high air intakes and rubber sealed engine compartment. Add in good MPG and air cooling for no associated radiator system up keep being needed. Lots of room to work on the simple to maintain engine and a breeze to pull and install the engine by one person by unbolting the rear bumper and body panel, much easier than a Beetle.

The last bonus was the heater system was more effective since the smaller cabs required less warm up time.

We didn’t have the chicken tax up here in Canada but the price compared to a truck from the big 3 made them a less common sight. My buddy had a rusty 1971 in the mid nineties it was quite useful and the drop sides were great if a forklift was used for loading materials. There are a few of the vanagon style ones around my small town in British Columbia. I have even seen a couple of eurovan style ones but they seem to be even rarer than the ones from the 1960’s. In fact there is even a similar but slightly later (1966-67) waiting to be restored outside a vw repair shop on my way to work. Neat trucks but these days way out of my budget and a lot more than the $600 my buddy paid for his in the ninties…